Around 10:30 AM we got our first glimpse of land in a week. Our crossing of the Atlantic was nearly over. Madeira is part of a small archipelago of islands which lies about 400 km off the coast of Morocco. By 2:00 PM we were alongside the dock in the capital of the island, Funchal, and cleared to land.
Madeira was discovered by the Portuguese in 1419 as they began their exploration down the coast of Africa on their way to the Spice Islands. When they found the island it was uninhabited and completely covered in forests. Later when they returned to settle, the Portuguese set fires for 7 years in order to clear land for cultivation. Now virtually all the usable space is terraced (it’s very hilly and steep) and planted with something. Everywhere you look there is a profusion of flowers and trees. The island produces lots of bananas – enough to export – and a variety of other fruits and vegetables. Despite the rich volcanic soil and lush growth, the island doesn’t produce enough to feed the population of 260,000 so food has to be imported.
Our driver/guide Daniel took us on a whirlwind tour of the island. Our first stop was the highest point above the city where we had spectacular views of the city and the ocean below. While there we took a very unique ride. We climbed into wicker basket sleds and rode 2 km down the hill with two Madeiran brakemen guiding our ride. This was a tradition started more than a hundred years ago when people at the top of the hill needed to go down to buy things at the lower levels. It was a truly different experience careening down the road in a basket.
Next we were off to the “Grand Canyon” of Madeira. Deep in the middle of the canyon is a place called Corral des Freiras , the Corral of the nuns. The story is that a convent of nuns lived down in Funchal and was afraid that they would be ravished by pirates so they fled from near the ocean. They climbed the mountains and settled on the floor of the canyon. Before the road was put in, there were people who were born and lived their entire lives in that place and never saw the ocean despite the fact that it is only a couple of miles away.
To get to the overlook of the canyon, we passed through pine and eucalyptus forests and the air was full of the wonderful fragrances of both. Along the way we also saw lots of evidence of the massive floods and landslides that hit Madeira in February of this year. Apparently the island had already experienced a colder and wetter winter than usual and in February after torrential rains the mountain streams became raging rivers which cascaded down the hills carrying huge boulders with them and crushing everything in their paths. 42 people lost their lives and hundreds were left homeless.
Next we visited the Cabo da Girao, the second highest sea cliffs in the world and the highest ones in Europe. From a height of approximately 2000 ft. (681 m) the cliffs rise nearly vertically from the ocean level. From that high up we felt as if we could see forever!
Our final stop before heading back to Funchal and the ship was Camara de los Lobos, the harbor of the wolves. There are no wolves on Madeira, but seals were called “sea wolves” hence the name. This is a small fishing village and we could see all the boats pulled up on the beach in the little harbor. All around the boats were lines filled with drying fish. Daniel told us that the fish were the Madeiran version of bacalao (or cod). Overlooking the harbor was a terrace where Winston Churchill used to come to paint and a mural depicted the old statesman smoking his trademark cigar as he sat before his easel.
Finally we drove back to the city passing through a very modern hotel district and lovely parks full of flowers and fountains. All in all, it was a lovely day. Madeira is definitely a place with many things to see and I felt we just touched the surface.
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